Typically the cleaning of contained bodies of water, such as those found in swimming pools is achieved by suction that attempts to remove dirt, leaves and other forms of debris. Due to the average size of swimming pools, manual cleaning is a time consuming and not particularly effective option as it requires a complicated suctioning and filtering system that is moved around the pool. Some automatic cleaning systems have included a device that automatically moves across the floor of the pool and sucks up debris. These devices or systems are often complicated and are not capable of vacuuming large sized debris.
Prior art self cleaning systems have been devised to address the noted problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,840 issued on Jul. 16, 2002 to Meincke and relates to a cleaning system for a swimming pool having plural active drains deployed about the bottom wall of a swimming pool and that cooperate with plural stationary nozzles mounted in the side walls that direct a flow of water down the side wall of the swimming pool. The directional nozzles dislodge debris from the side and bottom walls which is swept toward and received by the plural active floor drains, thus cleaning the pool. Additionally, the active floor drains have a grid cover that admits larger debris and does not prohibit the use of mobile pool cleaners. The active floor drains are connected to in-deck, fine mesh canister filters to remove medium and large size debris before it reaches the water pump and balance of the pool filtration system.
Blake is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,576 which issued on Nov. 27, 2007 and relates to a swimming pool cleaning system that includes a pump, a first tube coupling a suction port of the pump in fluid communication with a main drain or mobile cleaning device which draws water and settled debris from the bottom of the pool, and a skimming device including an entrainment nozzle and a safety tube. The entrainment nozzle is coupled by a second tube to a coupling device which diverts a small portion of pool return water pumped from an outlet port of the pump. The safety tube extends from above the water line and above the debris trap in the skimmer to the body of the skimmer below the debris trap. Most of the pool return water is pumped into a rotary distribution valve, various outlets of which are connected to various pool cleaning heads embedded in an inner surface of the pool. A single low-horsepower pump produces simultaneous effective skimming and operation of embedded cleaning heads.
Finally U.S. Pat. No. 7,344,639 issued on Mar. 18, 2008 to Meincke relates to a swimming pool water circulation system that includes up to two sets of at least two active main drains connected to a “Y” or a “double Y” connector and then, via a single line, to a single canister filter. Jet nozzles arranged in at least one bank on the pool walls use return water to sweep sediment down the pool walls and to cause a vertical flow of the water above the drains. The additional main drains can be deployed closer to the pool walls where they can better intercept sediment from the jet nozzles.
Self cleaning systems for swimming pools do not however address the challenges found in cleaning the water in the hot tub or swim spa environment. Hot tubs and swim spas create a special environment for the contained water due to the structural characteristics of the spas and tubs, namely the lack of depth to the tubs, the size of the tubs and the temperature of the water.
Unlike swimming pools, hot tubs and swim spas have a much smaller volume of water contained and the depth of the tub is generally a maximum of sixty inches. As such, most users can stand on the floor of the hot tubs and swim spas, and still have their upper torso above water. In swimming pools however, due to the depth of the pools, users are not often able to touch the bottom of the pool in the deep end. Typically filtering systems or grates are located in the deep end as gravity moves the debris to the lowest point of the swimming pool. Swimming pool users therefore are not exposed to the debris or obstacles such as grates of the filtering systems as they can not stand in the deep end.
Furthermore not only is the amount of water less than what is found in a swimming pool but the actual size of the hot tub or swim spa is much smaller than what is found in a swimming pool. The small size of the hot tub or swim spa relative to the number of people using the hot tub therefore creates a more challenging environment. Firstly the users are able to easily view and/or touch debris at the bottom of the hot tub or swim spa. Secondly with hot tubs and swim spas, there are often a number of people in a hot tub at the same time, for durations that are typically an hour so the ratio of water to people is high. In contrast, a swimming pool has a large volume of water over a large space, and typically a user will not stay in the swimming pool for long periods of time. Therefore there is not the concentration of people to water volume that you find in a hot tub or swim spa.
Furthermore the temperature of the hot tub or swim spa is also a factor to cleaning systems. The water environment of a hot tub or swim spa is very different from a swimming pool in that the water is at a much higher temperature. Coupled with the high ratio of people to water volume, the cleaning system for a hot tub must be sufficient and thorough to address the hot water environment that can produce a breeding ground for bacteria. Swimming pool water temperatures are generally a great deal colder and as such do not face the challenges of the high temperature environment in a hot tub.
The standard cleaning methods for hot tubs and swim spas and the like are usually through suctioning means similar to a swimming pool, and similar to a swimming pool, these systems do not capture all of the debris. Due to the size of the hot tubs and swim spas, and the lack of depth to their structure as noted above, the suctioning means is typically installed on a vertical wall of the hot tub or swim spa. The vertical wall positioning of the suctioning means is a result of resistance to having it on the floor of the hot tub or swim spa, as this is seen as an obstacle to users typically standing or walking in the hot tub or swim spa. Furthermore the positioning of the suctioning means on the vertical walls of the swim spa and hot tubs is an attempt to collect the majority of the debris in the water however, debris will often be located on the bottom or floor of the hot tub or swim spa. In swimming pools, the cleaning of the water may occur through an automatic built in vacuuming system that can utilize the bottom floor of the swimming pool to be able to remove the debris found at the bottom of the pool as the depth of the pool negates any concern of obstacles and the like.
Typically ninety nine percent of hot tubs pull the water through traditional filtering systems however the water that is located within approximately six to eight inches from the bottom of the hot tub or swim spa is not filtered through the traditional filtering systems. Due to gravity, it is in the six to eight inches of water that debris settles, yet this water is not cleaned and filtered through the side filtering systems and the debris therefore remains in the hot tub. The inefficiency of these types of systems often requires the end consumers to drain the water out of their hot tubs and swim spas to remove the debris or to use a portable cleaner found in the pool industry to vacuum out.
Therefore a self cleaning system for hot tubs or swim spas that allows for the suctioning means to be located in the bottom or floor of the hot tub by implementing a basin as an integral part of the hot tub shell and therefore provides improved cleaning, does not create an obstacle to users on the bottom of the floor, reduces the cost of labour significantly and provide a better quality product with a significant reduction in leaks and warranty claims is desired.